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Publish Date: October 14th, 2024
Entering the trades can be intimidating, especially if you don’t fit the traditional mold. In a white cis male dominated space, BIPOC, women, and LGBTQIA+ can have a harder time entering the trades and being confident in their choice when they do. For instance, in the electrical trade, only about 10% of electricians are Black and less than 2% are women.
On top of that, new tradespeople are often thrown onto an active team and expected to just figure it out. This slows down teams and sacrifices everyone’s safety.
At Namaste Solar, we’re people-centric in everything we do – including our residential solar installer training. We recognize that building a supportive, more inclusive path into the trades is better for everyone, from apprentices to seasoned teams.
It creates stronger, more skilled tradespeople and a safer and higher producing working environment. And since tradespeople face mental health struggles at a higher proportion than other career paths, a more intentional path into the trades helps to lighten this burden.
We offer something to new solar installer apprentices that almost no other Colorado solar company does, a dedicated training crew. For new hires, this crew is the first step toward a Colorado electrical apprentice license. This blog will share how we do it, and how it benefits our people and the industry at large.
Inclusivity at Namaste Solar in A Denver Electrician Apprenticeship
Not every Colorado electrician apprenticeship program has a training crew. In fact, it’s exceptionally rare. “From what I understand, we are one of the few, if not the only company, that facilitates onboarding training as a part of our process. So, it’s pretty unique to us,” said Fletcher (she/they), our Training Crew Lead and Namaste Solar employee for almost 3 years. Other instrumental people in the training crew’s existence and development are Chris Ochs, Alyssa Soares, and Juan Blohm.
Chris (standing) and Fletcher (sitting)
We caught up with Fletcher to talk about what being a part of this team means for them. They started as an EPC crew lead and spent a couple of weeks on the training crew when they started. They paid attention to what the training crew did and when the previous Training Crew Lead changed roles, it was a “no brainer” for Fletcher to apply for the role.
Before entering the trades, Fletcher was considering getting a degree in teaching. “I really enjoy education, so this is an evolution of that same career trajectory, just trade flavored,” shared Fletcher. Before coming to Namaste Solar, Fletcher trained apprentices at other commercial electrical companies – and had been doing so since they were a first-year apprentice.
During that time, Fletcher saw first-hand the barriers that marginalized groups faced when they entered the trades. “I’ve seen people treated incredibly poorly for no fault of their own, simply because they exist and don’t fit a standard.”
That type of treatment makes people like Fletcher vulnerable in a career path like being a solar installer. “I come from traditional blue-collar trades and haven’t always felt welcomed,” said Fletcher. “As somebody that does not experience gender normalcy, and is currently going through transition, that would be an absolute nightmare in any other space.”
But at Namaste Solar, they’ve been encouraged to celebrate who they are. “Specifically with Namaste Solar, we have cultivated and created an environment where people are permitted to be who they are unapologetically and thrive and flourish, where in other environments it wouldn’t be quite as friendly or could be hostile. I’ve been given the opportunity to help with stewarding that for other people.”
The way Fletcher sees it, “When we permit more callous or even abusive personality types and mentalities to be in positions of authority [in the trades], we foster unwelcoming and hostile environments for under supported and marginalized folks. So, this is chipping away at it, with the hope that we keep chipping until it falls apart. And then we can build something new.”
Fletcher takes pride in being the first friend that many solar installers have when they come to Namaste Solar. “My primary goal is to continue to expand equitable access to the trades. Everybody should have the same opportunity to do this stuff and get into it. They shouldn’t be barred simply because of their past, how they present, or how they identify.”
What Our Training Crew Does and How it Works
Every residential solar installer at Namaste Solar starts on our training crew. And the solar installer training crew has evolved in the past year and a half. Initially, it was set up to help facilitate the first three weeks with the company. It taught people the basics – safety, rope management, and job acclimation and what it entailed to install a solar array.
Around a year ago, the training crew started to evolve. Now, it facilitates the forklift training for the company, including everything from class one to class seven telehandlers (telescopic hydraulic lifting machines), boom lifts, and mobile elevator platforms. The most recent addition to the roster is the handling of first aid training through the Red Cross program. “We’re slowly evolving the training crew, but right now its function is mostly training and onboarding, safety training, and a couple certifications inside the company," said Fletcher.
Currently, our training crew sits within our builder new construction (BNC) department. This is the team that installs arrays in new developments, so they are working on multiple arrays at a time at sites still under construction. “It’s the best way to facilitate new hire training,” said Fletcher. “We’re able to create an environment where there aren’t production metrics assigned to what we’re doing. So, if it takes us a day to get done what would take a crew only an hour or two, that’s not the end of the world because they’re learning to do it safely.”
When it comes to the nitty gritty of what the training crew does, it’s focused mainly on procedural skills. They show new hires everything – including how to read a tape measure, swing a hammer and find a rafter, and square and level solar arrays using different techniques. They go through multiple methods to learn how to make a system that fits industry and electrical code, company guidelines, and best practices. Along with all these fundamental skills, we impress upon them the importance of craft and meeting the high standards of Namaste Solar.
This type of detail-oriented, step-by-step training isn’t the norm in the solar industry. “We’ve dissected the whole process of an install into these little bite-sized pieces that we can handle one at a time instead of expecting people to absorb it all, which is how a lot of companies function,” said Fletcher.
And when they’re sent to a live crew, that crew is informed and advised that there’s going to be a period of time when the new people aren’t going to be at the same speed as them. We say that it can take up to six months for people’s bodies to acclimate to the requirements of the job, like lifting solar modules or dealing with the heat.
The Value of the Solar Installer Training Crew
Entering the trades can be intimidating at best and downright dangerous at worst. Hostile environments can threaten productivity and mental health, while inadequate education can lead to unsafe practices and injury. Given these facts, the value of the training crew can’t be overstated.
“There’s a little bit of fear and discomfort that comes with getting into the trades,” shared Fletcher. “So, having this training crew means that when they show up, the very first thing we’re looking to do is make sure that they can operate without hurting themselves. Since the training crew’s inception, and in particular in the year and half since the training crew has changed and begun to partner more with our safety department, zero to six month injuries [from hire date] have decreased significantly, which is incredible [this is the period where injuries can be more likely due to inexperience]. I think the biggest value is that we’re able to reduce injuries and set the expectation of safety culture as a part of the core fabric of how somebody perceives trade work coming into this.”
And Namaste Solar’s solar installer training is one piece in getting rid of hazing in the trades. “It is so common that an apprentice is treated poorly by their journeyman, their lead, and so when they get their license, something clicks in their head. They think that it’s their turn to treat the next person the same way because that’s how they got tough and good,” shared Fletcher. “That’s trash in my opinion. There’s no reason we need to abuse each other. It’s absolutely unacceptable to continue to proliferate that behavior.”
“I usually tell people, I had a pretty awful experience coming into the trades. I train people like I parent, which is to say that just because I had a pretty rough run of it and did not have all the things I would have like to have had doesn’t mean other people have to experience that,” said Fletcher. “Actually, if I can help it, they will not experience that. It stops with me. It gives me an opportunity to stop that generational trauma of the trades and get people out of the revolving door of treating each other poorly. I try to be that light for other people when possible.”
The Path to Becoming a Denver Electrician Apprentice at Namaste Solar
Our people-centric approach is changing the game. As a company, our efforts are all toward the goal of creating a more equitable and sustainable future. And our training crew is doing this in an industry that doesn’t have the best reputation for inclusivity and support.
We invest in our people because we know that everyone is better off when people feel supported, seen, and accepted. Our solar installer training crew is an investment we make that’s well worth it. If you’ve ever considered entering the trades, we’d love to show you what it’s like to take a more equitable, inclusive step through the door. To get started, check out our open career opportunities by clicking the button below, subscribe to our blog, and follow us on social to keep-up-to-date on how we are transforming energy and transforming business.
